Tag Archives: Hawaiian language

I get asked quite often where the name Anaquana comes from and there’s actually quite an interesting story behind the name. Many years ago I had a dream and part of that dream featured a man who looked like a Pacific Islander. He was also a God. In the dream, I asked for his name and what he said sounded like Anaquana. When I awoke I searched everywhere for any reference to Anaquana that I might be able to find, but came up empty. I even searched for phonetic variations and still got zilch. I finally shrugged my shoulders and went on my way. It was only a dream after all.

Some months later, when I decided to join LiveJournal, I wanted a name that was going to be unique and Anaquana seemed to fit the bill. After that, Anaquana was my go-to name whenever I joined a new website. As I gained more and more friends online they began calling me Ana since, let’s face it, Anaquana can be a bit of a finger fumbler. It’s why I chose Ana as my pen name — it’s a name that is already a part of who I am and I’ve had experience responding to it in public. ;)

Several years after I took Anaquana on as my online persona, I was blessed with a surprise trip to Hawaii. While there I learned that the Hawaiian language does not include the letter “q”. So, if the person in my dream really was a Pacific Islander, it would not be Anaquana, but Anakuana. At the same time, I was studying a Pagan tradition that had incorporated some Hawaiian Huna concepts into it. Through that tradition I learned that the Hawaiian word for God or Divinity is Akua.

AnAKUAna

I don’t know anybody who actually speaks Hawaiian to verify it, but I have a feeling that what this Pacific Islander God was saying was “I am God.” Which, come on, you have to admit that’s pretty damned cool right there!

Edited to add some more interesting information from JKP in the comments:

Another interesting thing about your name with a K instead of a Q is that it’s also a powerful statement of self-awareness or being. Anaku is Akkadian for I, and Ana is Aramaic for I.